Status of Women in South Africa - Term Paper Example

Status of Women in South Africa In recent years, women’s affairs have been one of the most prominent talked about issues around the world. From the United States of America to Australia, from Kazakhstan to South Africa, the status of women in the society has been a much discussed subject. This is mainly due to changing face of society as well as the need to address human rights issues and gender equality. The status of women is, therefore, a rich topic of discussion for many scholars. For this paper, we have chosen to investigate the status of women in South Africa. South Africa is a diverse country with a rich history steeped in racial divisiveness and the struggles therein to become, what is now, one of the most single nations to rise from a pool of diversity and strength of its people (Hames, p13). It is from this rich culture that we chose to investigate the status of women in this noteworthy country. In this paper, we will focus on various areas of interest, these being: Socio economic rights for women, virginity testing, women in politics and gender based violence. Socio economic rights for women The progressive constitution of South Africa guarantees equality for women, access to socio economic rights e.g. fair labour practices, land, housing and health as well as right to freedom from violence. Unfortunately, some of these rights are not a certainty for many women as the country has failed to put into practice and deliver on the policies that give consequence to these constitutional rights. Poverty and inequality in South Africa, is closely related to race, gender and class. According to the World Bank, the level of poverty is defined by the lack of ability to achieve a minimum standard of living, which is measured in terms of basic consumption needs or the income necessary to satisfy those needs. It has been estimated that 60% of black South Africans remain poor and live in deteriorating socio economic conditions. The unemployment rate in South Africa increased from 33% to 36.2% in the 3 years to 1999, of which 56% of the unemployed were women and the remaining 44% were men. Seven years later, in 2006, according to the Household Survey, of the unemployed, more were women (31.8%) than men (23.8%). The survey also showed that the highest unemployment rate of 41.8% was among black African women. There was another survey done in 2006, the General Household Survey, indicated that 37% refers to households headed by women, and those headed by black African women tally up to 31.9%. From all these statistics, the Institute for Democracy in South Africa indicates that 80% of households headed by women have no wage earners. This therefore means that the most vulnerable members in the South African society are women, in particular, black women. This is further supported by the premise that women, who are employed, earn less than the men in the same positions. Since there are more women than men who live in informal settlements, women therefore have less access to basic services such as refuse collection / sanitation, and even electricity. Most of these settlements are located quite far from health services, schools, public administration and courts. This distance from these facilities makes it harder for the country to put into practice the socio economic policies provided for in the country’s constitution. Women are also further economically disadvantaged by the features of customary laws that rely on gendered hierarchy. However, as of 2011, the local chapter of the international organization, Business and Professional Women (BPW), launched a national campaign for women to have more of a say in decisions made in the business place as well as be better equipped in their roles in the workplace. BPW and the Department of Trade and Industry’s South African Women Entrepreneurial Network signed a memorandum of understanding in November 2010, to collaborate on projects pertaining women empowerment; the ‘Equality Means Business’ initiative was launched on International Women’s Day on 8 March 2011. Women’s empowerment principles that are being promoted in these process include: Promoting education, training and professional development of women, ensuring the health, safety and well being of women workers, establishment of a high level corporate leadership for gender equality, implementation of supply chain, enterprise development and marketing processes that empower women, promoting equality through advocacy and community initiatives as well as ensuring the measurement and publicly reporting on progress to achieve gender equality (Gasa 92). Virginity testing Human rights activists say virginity testing is demeaning. Virginity testing is a controversial practice that refers to the practice and process of determining whether a female is a virgin. In South Africa, many believe virginity as one of the county’s best defences against the spread of HIV/AIDS. South Africa is identified by the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), as the country with the highest number of women infected with HIV/AIDS in the world. Females comprise of 56% of the HIV population in South Africa. The mortality rates in South Africa have risen sharply due to HIV/AIDS and the newly computed life expectancy of a South African born after 2005 is only 46 years old. It is estimated that 4.2 million South Africans are infected with the virus. Backers of virginity testing practice emphasize total abstinence from sexual intercourse as a way to prevent HIV/AIDS as it serves as an abstinence only enforcement system. This practice has brought about a dilemma in the South African society. The constitution, as well as various other human rights agreements, guarantees political equality, yet it also demands the recognition and protection of cultural rights. The struggle over virginity testing is unique as it promotes the use of traditional culture as a means to enforce a public health measure over a modern health issue. South Africa’s Commission of Gender Equality argues that this practice is risky given that girls who ‘did not pass’ the test may be shunned or emotionally affected while those who ‘passed’ face the risk of being raped in a society where some believe that intercourse with a virgin will cure HIV/AIDS. This testing is common among Zulus, who form the largest ethnic group in South Africa. The South African government banned this practice in 2008 but it is still being practised. Some supporters of the practice state that the ban that was passed indicated that the government had become influenced by western values. This practice on girls and women has varied views depending on where one stands. Going forward, it would be best of all stakeholders in the virginity testing debate united to find a universal cause to fight this disease that disproportionately affects young girls and women. Status of Women in Politics In South Africa, since 2004, women’s representation in parliament has steadily been increasing from 27% to 45% during the 2009 provincial and national elections. This is mainly the result of a voluntary 50/50 quota system implemented by the African National Congress (ANC), which is the main political party in South Africa (Hassim 36). ANC has also driven the women’s representations as far as the local government seats are concerned from 19% to 39% in 1995 to 2006; this was done mainly due to ANC’s earlier 30% quota system. Under President Zuma, 40% of provincial cabinet members or members of the Executive Council as well as five out of nine provincial premiers are women. However, women’s representation is dismal in other political parties as they have no such quota in place. Also, in the state departments, the acceptance of women’s leadership is still low within the executive realm as well as chairing of key committees in legislature. Gender Based Violence South Africa has one of the highest levels of gender based violence in the world, and occurrences of domestic violence and rape remains unacceptably high. Making is worse is that the support offered to victims of Gender Based Violence is under resourced thus not effective. Statistics are shocking as far as this type of violence is concerned. According to research, more than half of women in South Africa have gone through situations of gender based violence. Also of note is that more than three quarters of men in South Africa have been responsible for violence against women in their lifetime. It was noted that between March 2010 and March 2011, on average, seven women were murdered every day in South Africa. It is rather saddening to note that gender based violence does not feature much in the South African political front. According to research done on the analysis of political speeches, it was noted that only 4.8% of 1,956 speeches that were analysed mentioned gender based violence, and out of these, only 1% noted it as an issue. A situation analysis of sexual assault was done in 2003 by The South African Gender based Violence and Health Initiative (SAGBVHI). The report indicated that women very often receive poor quality medical care after sexual assault. Also no systematic and thorough investigation is done in such cases in all provinces. In the clinics, it was noted that it took quite long to attend to such cases (as the clinics may be understaffed) and that there were cases where there was no privacy (having a private room with walls and doors) when examinations were being undertaken. Police would use assault evidence collection kits to collect evidence on such cases. However, it was noted that various problems would arise from there being inadequate number of kits for use, either the kits were incomplete or that the health workers are not well trained on how to administer the tests using these kits. There was also a gap noted in so far as relationships between these organizations were concerned. Intersectional collaboration was inadequate. It was noted that some health providers had an average relationship with the police, in that they would not adequately share information about all gender based violence cases. It was also unlikely that these health care providers, or the police, would have formed relationships with Non Governmental Organizations, which would be useful in providing counselling to the victims of such violence. The prominence in this type of violence is also a factor in the rising cases of HIV AIDS infections. People Opposing Women Abuse (POWA) is an organization that works with women who are affected by gender based violence; it operated two shelters in the Johannesburg area. It also has a group of counsellors and social workers that provide individual as well as group therapy sessions with victims of this type of violence (Nowrojee et al 48). In 2008, Irish Aid spent upwards of USD 1.8 million in supporting NGO’S such as POWA in dealing with issues of gender based violence. Works Cited Gasa, Nomboniso. Women in South African History: They Remove Boulders and Cross Rivers = Basus'iimbokodo, Bawel'imilambo. Cape Town: HSRC Press, 2007. Print. Hames, Mary. Women in South Africa: Profile of Women in South Africa. Bellville, Cape Town, South Africa: University of Western Cape, Gender Equity Unit, 2006. Print. Hassim, Shireen. Women's Organizations and Democracy in South Africa: Contesting Authority. Madison, Wisc. [u.a.: Univ. of Wisconsin Press, 2006. Print. Nowrojee, Binaifer, Bronwen Manby and Dorothy Q. Thomas. Violence against Women in South Africa: State Response to Domestic Violence and Rape. New York: Human Rights Watch, 1995. Print. Read More